Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Monday, October 14, 2013
Sunday, October 13, 2013
'What the Guardian is doing is important for democracy'
10 October 2013 | The Guardian
On Thursday the Daily Mail described the Guardian as 'The paper that helps Britain's enemies'. We showed that article to many of the world's leading editors. This is what they said:
READ IT HERE:
Grim report on press freedoms under Obama
Zoë Carpenter | The Nation | 10 Oct 2013
What sets the Obama administration apart from others, said Downie, is not its attempt to control the media narrative but rather its ability to do so. “What’s significant here is the very sophisticated, very successful, very determined way they’ve gone about doing this,” Downie told The Nation. “Most administrations aren’t very successful. This one has been very tightly disciplined.”
READ IT ALL:
What sets the Obama administration apart from others, said Downie, is not its attempt to control the media narrative but rather its ability to do so. “What’s significant here is the very sophisticated, very successful, very determined way they’ve gone about doing this,” Downie told The Nation. “Most administrations aren’t very successful. This one has been very tightly disciplined.”
READ IT ALL:
Friday, October 11, 2013
Republican governors and Medican't | The Daily Show
10 Oct 2013 | Health-challenged states like Texas and Mississippi refuse to take advantage of a federally subsidized Medicaid expansion.
Tuesday, October 08, 2013
Monday, October 07, 2013
Bill Moyers essay: On the sabotage of democracy
4 Oct 2013 | BillMoyers.com
Once upon a time when I was a young man working on Capitol Hill, it was commonplace that when a bill became law, everybody was unhappy with it. But you didn’t bring down the government just because it wasn’t perfect. You argue and fight and vote and then, due process having been at least raggedly served - on to the next fight." - Bill Moyers
Once upon a time when I was a young man working on Capitol Hill, it was commonplace that when a bill became law, everybody was unhappy with it. But you didn’t bring down the government just because it wasn’t perfect. You argue and fight and vote and then, due process having been at least raggedly served - on to the next fight." - Bill Moyers
Saturday, October 05, 2013
Bernie Sanders explains how the Koch Brothers are keeping the government shutdown
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) explained on The Ed Show how the Koch
brothers are using threats and their money to keep the government shut
down.
The Shutdown... brought to You by Citizens United
2 Oct 2013 | TheBigPictureRT
The first government shutdown in 17 years might never have happened if the Supreme Court didn't open up the floodgates of corporate money with its 2010 Citizens United decision.
The first government shutdown in 17 years might never have happened if the Supreme Court didn't open up the floodgates of corporate money with its 2010 Citizens United decision.
Elizabeth Warren: Why government matters
4 Oct 2013 | Elizabeth Warren speaks the truth with class and passion:
Thursday, October 03, 2013
Wednesday, October 02, 2013
Republican shutdown... "irrational, avoidable and predictable"
San Antonio Express-News makes it very clear that one party is responsible for an "irrational, avoidable and predictable" government shutdown.
READ MORE: http://bit.ly/1g443mX
READ MORE: http://bit.ly/1g443mX
Tuesday, October 01, 2013
Sunday, September 29, 2013
David Gregory obliterates Ted Cruz on Meet The Press
Things have gotten so bad for Ted Cruz that even David Gregory destroyed
him on Meet The Press. Gregory painted Cruz as a total failure, and
told the Senator, ‘You haven’t moved anyone.’
Calling out Ted Cruz's faux filibuster lie | The Ed Show
Sen. Cruz distorted a story about a student from New Jersey to try and make a point about defunding healthcare and student loans.
Healthcare Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
25 Sept 2013 | The Daily Show
Texas Senator Ted Cruz casts himself as Churchill to Obama's Chamberlain in the great fight against Hitler's healthcare exchanges.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz casts himself as Churchill to Obama's Chamberlain in the great fight against Hitler's healthcare exchanges.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Bernie Sanders flames 'extreme right wing extremists' for threatening government shutdown
27 Sept 2013
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Friday tore into what he called "extreme right-wing Republicans" for threatening to shut down the government and default on the nation's debts if President Barack Obama's health care reform law was not defunded.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on Friday tore into what he called "extreme right-wing Republicans" for threatening to shut down the government and default on the nation's debts if President Barack Obama's health care reform law was not defunded.
Matt Taibbi on how Wall Street hedge funds are looting the pension funds of public workers | Democracy Now
26 Sept 2013
In his latest article for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi reports that Wall Street firms are now making millions in profits off of public pension funds nationwide. "Essentially it is a wealth transfer from teachers, cops and firemen to billionaire hedge funders," Taibbi says. "Pension funds are one of the last great, unguarded piles of money in this country and there are going to be all sort of operators that are trying to get their hands on that money."
SOURCE:
In his latest article for Rolling Stone, Matt Taibbi reports that Wall Street firms are now making millions in profits off of public pension funds nationwide. "Essentially it is a wealth transfer from teachers, cops and firemen to billionaire hedge funders," Taibbi says. "Pension funds are one of the last great, unguarded piles of money in this country and there are going to be all sort of operators that are trying to get their hands on that money."
SOURCE:
Across America, Wall Street is grabbing money meant for public workers
Matt Taibbi | RollingStone.com
26 Sept 2013
[Excerpt] This is the third act in an improbable triple-fucking of ordinary people that Wall Street is seeking to pull off as a shocker epilogue to the crisis era. Five years ago this fall, an epidemic of fraud and thievery in the financial-services industry triggered the collapse of our economy. The resultant loss of tax revenue plunged states everywhere into spiraling fiscal crises, and local governments suffered huge losses in their retirement portfolios – remember, these public pension funds were some of the most frequently targeted suckers upon whom Wall Street dumped its fraud-riddled mortgage-backed securities in the pre-crash years.
Today, the same Wall Street crowd that caused the crash is not merely rolling in money again but aggressively counterattacking on the public-relations front. The battle increasingly centers around public funds like state and municipal pensions. This war isn't just about money. Crucially, in ways invisible to most Americans, it's also about blame. In state after state, politicians are following the Rhode Island playbook, using scare tactics and lavishly funded PR campaigns to cast teachers, firefighters and cops – not bankers – as the budget-devouring boogeymen responsible for the mounting fiscal problems of America's states and cities.
READ IT ALL:
26 Sept 2013
[Excerpt] This is the third act in an improbable triple-fucking of ordinary people that Wall Street is seeking to pull off as a shocker epilogue to the crisis era. Five years ago this fall, an epidemic of fraud and thievery in the financial-services industry triggered the collapse of our economy. The resultant loss of tax revenue plunged states everywhere into spiraling fiscal crises, and local governments suffered huge losses in their retirement portfolios – remember, these public pension funds were some of the most frequently targeted suckers upon whom Wall Street dumped its fraud-riddled mortgage-backed securities in the pre-crash years.
Today, the same Wall Street crowd that caused the crash is not merely rolling in money again but aggressively counterattacking on the public-relations front. The battle increasingly centers around public funds like state and municipal pensions. This war isn't just about money. Crucially, in ways invisible to most Americans, it's also about blame. In state after state, politicians are following the Rhode Island playbook, using scare tactics and lavishly funded PR campaigns to cast teachers, firefighters and cops – not bankers – as the budget-devouring boogeymen responsible for the mounting fiscal problems of America's states and cities.
READ IT ALL:
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Obamacare government shutdown | The Colbert Report
19 Sept 2013
Republicans threaten to shut down the federal government if Democrats don't vote to defund Obamacare.
Republicans threaten to shut down the federal government if Democrats don't vote to defund Obamacare.
Robert Reich on 'Inequality For All' | Bill Moyers
20 Sept 2013 | BillMoyers.com
This
week marks both the fifth anniversary of the fiscal meltdown that
almost tanked the world economy and the second anniversary of Occupy
Wall Street, the movement that sparked heightened public awareness of
income inequality. Yet the crisis is worse than ever – in the first
three years of the recovery, 95 percent of the economic gains have gone
only to the top one percent of Americans. And the share of working
people in the U.S. who define themselves as lower class is at its
highest level in four decades.More and more are fighting back. According to Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor: “The core principle is that we want an economy that works for everyone, not just for a small elite. We want equal opportunity, not equality of outcome. We want to make sure that there’s upward mobility again, in our society and in our economy.”
This week, Reich joins Moyers & Company to discuss a new documentary film, Inequality for All, opening next week in theaters across the country. Directed by Jacob Kornbluth, the film aims to be a game-changer in our national discussion of income inequality. Reich, who Time magazine called one of the best cabinet secretaries of the 20th century, stars in this dynamic, witty and entertaining documentary.
SOURCE:
Ex-U.S. House leader Tom DeLay's conviction overturned
19 Sept 2013 | Associated Press
AUSTIN, TX -- A Texas appeals court tossed the criminal conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Thursday, saying there was insufficient evidence for a jury in 2010 to have found him guilty of illegally funneling money to Republican candidates.
snip
The Travis County District Attorney's office issued the following statement: "Today, two judges sitting on the Third Court of Appeals reversed and acquitted former United States House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was convicted of felony offenses by a jury in November of 2010.
We strongly disagree with the opinion of Judges Goodwin and Gaultney that the evidence was insufficient. We are concerned and disappointed that two judges substituted their assessment of the facts for that of 12 jurors who personally heard the testimony of over 40 witnesses over the course of several weeks and found that the evidence was sufficient and proved DeLay's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
We are preparing a response to this opinion and will ask the full Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review the ruling."
READ IT ALL:
AUSTIN, TX -- A Texas appeals court tossed the criminal conviction of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay on Thursday, saying there was insufficient evidence for a jury in 2010 to have found him guilty of illegally funneling money to Republican candidates.
snip
The Travis County District Attorney's office issued the following statement: "Today, two judges sitting on the Third Court of Appeals reversed and acquitted former United States House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who was convicted of felony offenses by a jury in November of 2010.
We strongly disagree with the opinion of Judges Goodwin and Gaultney that the evidence was insufficient. We are concerned and disappointed that two judges substituted their assessment of the facts for that of 12 jurors who personally heard the testimony of over 40 witnesses over the course of several weeks and found that the evidence was sufficient and proved DeLay's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
We are preparing a response to this opinion and will ask the full Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to review the ruling."
READ IT ALL:
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich calls for a new era of citizen activism | Part 2
16 Sept 2013 - In this exclusive, unedited interview, economist Robert Reich discusses getting big money out of politics, interning for Robert Kennedy, and media mud wrestling. Scroll down for Part 1.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich calls for a new era of citizen activism | Part 1
16 Sept 2013 - In this exclusive, unedited interview, Robert Reich looks to the past for future economic solutions.
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Labor redefines itself in Los Angeles
Michael Winship, Moyers & Company
11 Sept 2013
“It’s time to turn America right side up!” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka exhorted those in attendance at the labor alliance’s quadrennial convention in Los Angeles on Monday. Time, he said in his keynote address, to change the ratio of power, to put the 99 percent in charge rather than let the richest one percent dominate government, politics and society.
“Since 2009, the pay of America’s corporate CEOs has gone up nearly 40 percent,” Trumka noted. “Imagine for a second what kind of country we would live in if ordinary people’s incomes had increased like CEO’s. Almost no one would live in poverty.”
READ IT ALL:
11 Sept 2013
“It’s time to turn America right side up!” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka exhorted those in attendance at the labor alliance’s quadrennial convention in Los Angeles on Monday. Time, he said in his keynote address, to change the ratio of power, to put the 99 percent in charge rather than let the richest one percent dominate government, politics and society.
“Since 2009, the pay of America’s corporate CEOs has gone up nearly 40 percent,” Trumka noted. “Imagine for a second what kind of country we would live in if ordinary people’s incomes had increased like CEO’s. Almost no one would live in poverty.”
READ IT ALL:
Monday, September 09, 2013
LEAKED mockumentary: The Internet Must Go
In John Wooley's hilarious 30-minute mockumentary The Internet Must Go,
he plays a marketing shill hired by the big cable operators and phone
companies to convince Americans to accept corrupt, non-neutral Internet
connections where your ability to reach sites and services online is
based on whether your ISP has a deal with the company offering it
Wooley's playing a Colbert-esque useful idiot, and he never breaks character as he interviews Susan Crawford, Al Franken, John Hodgman, Tim Wu, Larry Lessig, and many others, giving them the chance to play out the arguments for a neutral, fair Internet. The climax is a visit to North Carolina, where the big telcos have successfully gotten legislation passed banning municipalities from offering high-speed Internet, even in towns where the cable and phone companies have no plans to offer high-speed connections.
Learn more and take action: www.theinternetmustgo.com
Wooley's playing a Colbert-esque useful idiot, and he never breaks character as he interviews Susan Crawford, Al Franken, John Hodgman, Tim Wu, Larry Lessig, and many others, giving them the chance to play out the arguments for a neutral, fair Internet. The climax is a visit to North Carolina, where the big telcos have successfully gotten legislation passed banning municipalities from offering high-speed Internet, even in towns where the cable and phone companies have no plans to offer high-speed connections.
Learn more and take action: www.theinternetmustgo.com
Saturday, September 07, 2013
Friday, August 30, 2013
Happy Birthday, Molly Ivins (you were right)
"Watch the House pass a bad bill. Watch the Senate make it worse. Watch the banking industry dig its own grave. Watch supposedly smart people set up a financial disaster. Can we see President Clinton veto this mess? Veto, Clinton, veto.
"Not since Congress passed the Garn-St. Germain bill in 1981 – the one that deregulated the S&Ls and unleashed a half-a-trillion-dollar disaster, which the taxpayers of this country wound up paying for – has there been a move to match this for pure folly.
"In May, the House passed (by one vote) a bill to eliminate barriers between banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies. This sets up financial holding companies that can offer all three types of services simultaneously. The most obvious risk is that a blunder in the insurance or brokerage end of the business could bring down a bank, putting insured deposits at risk. The taxpayers, of course, then wind up with the tab, as we did with the savings-and-loan mess."
Saturday, August 24, 2013
Mark Leibovich on America's Gilded Capital | Bill Moyers
This
Town by Mark Leibovich is the story of how Washington became an
occupied city, its hold on reality distorted by greed and ambition.
Leibovich pulls no punches, naming names and revealing the city’s
bipartisan lust for power, cash and notoriety.
Friday, August 16, 2013
Johnny Winter And - It's My Own Fault
'Live Johnny Winter And' is a 1971 album recorded live at various locations during the fall of 1970.
Monday, August 12, 2013
David Sirota on Jeff Bezos and the Citizen Kane-ification of newspapers
6 August 2013 | Current.com
David Sirota interviews Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos purchasing the Washington Post.
David Sirota interviews Pulitzer Prize winning reporter David Cay Johnston about Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos purchasing the Washington Post.
Media silent as State of Texas defends constitutionality of racial discrimination
11 August 2013 | NewsCorpse.com
Excerpt:
The argument by the state of Texas is that they are deliberately discriminating against Democratic voters, not minorities or other protected classes of citizens, and they regard that as permissible. The first problem with their argument is that it is questionable to assert that it is constitutional to “make partisan districting decisions.” Any overt attempt to suppress the voting rights of any citizen is challengeable and potentially in violation of civil liberties.
More to the point, the claim that they are only aiming their discriminatory activities at Democrats is disingenuous and unsupportable. The redistricting maps proposed by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature cut obviously across racial boundaries. The clear intent is to segregate blacks and Latinos into the fewest number of districts possible, denying them equal representation. These maps were struck down by federal courts as blatantly discriminatory, but now the state can re-introduce them with the blessing of an atrociously reasoned Supreme Court decision.
There is simply no way to pretend that the statement made in the filing defending the constitutionality of discrimination against Democrats is anything other than a defense of discrimination against minority communities in Texas. Given the demographic breakdown of the district mapping, it is absurd and grossly dishonest to assert that the “effects on minority voters” are “incidental.” What the state of Texas is doing is racism, pure and simple.
So where is the media coverage of this outrageous admission made in an official court document? None of the television news networks has reported on it. None of the major national newspapers has published a story about it. A few Internet news outlets have done some commendable reporting on it, but their reach is minimal at this point.
READ IT ALL:
Excerpt:
The argument by the state of Texas is that they are deliberately discriminating against Democratic voters, not minorities or other protected classes of citizens, and they regard that as permissible. The first problem with their argument is that it is questionable to assert that it is constitutional to “make partisan districting decisions.” Any overt attempt to suppress the voting rights of any citizen is challengeable and potentially in violation of civil liberties.
More to the point, the claim that they are only aiming their discriminatory activities at Democrats is disingenuous and unsupportable. The redistricting maps proposed by the Republican-controlled Texas legislature cut obviously across racial boundaries. The clear intent is to segregate blacks and Latinos into the fewest number of districts possible, denying them equal representation. These maps were struck down by federal courts as blatantly discriminatory, but now the state can re-introduce them with the blessing of an atrociously reasoned Supreme Court decision.
There is simply no way to pretend that the statement made in the filing defending the constitutionality of discrimination against Democrats is anything other than a defense of discrimination against minority communities in Texas. Given the demographic breakdown of the district mapping, it is absurd and grossly dishonest to assert that the “effects on minority voters” are “incidental.” What the state of Texas is doing is racism, pure and simple.
So where is the media coverage of this outrageous admission made in an official court document? None of the television news networks has reported on it. None of the major national newspapers has published a story about it. A few Internet news outlets have done some commendable reporting on it, but their reach is minimal at this point.
READ IT ALL:
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Richard Wolff on fighting for economic justice and fair wages | Bill Moyers
February 22, 2013
Economist Richard Wolff
joins Bill to shine light on the disaster left behind in capitalism’s
wake, and to discuss the fight for economic justice, including a fair
minimum wage. Wednesday, August 07, 2013
Texas State Senator Wendy Davis Remarks | National Press Club
Aug 5, 2013 - Every Texan should listen to her speech. Ms. Davis’ life story, empathy,
and actions make her that amalgam of knowledge, empathy, and experience
needed to lead Texas at this time in our history.
READ MORE HERE:
READ MORE HERE:
Monday, August 05, 2013
John Oliver's takedown of Fox News' absurd arguments against raising the minimum wage
John Oliver lays bare the ignorance, mean-spiritedness, and unabashed greed of those who argue against raising the minimum wage.
Saturday, August 03, 2013
President John F. Kennedy in 1962 on the need for Medicare
This video is a short clip from a speech given in 1962 by President Kennedy, at a huge public rally in support of his proposal, later known as Medicare, to provide health care insurance for the elderly, as part of the Social Security system. Here, the President explains the need for the Medicare program, and also defends it against false attacks by opponents. Medicare was not enacted into law until 1965, during the term of President Lyndon Johnson, approximately two years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The arguments made by President Kennedy are also pretty good reasons why our country should have a program of universal health care, by expanding Medicare to cover all citizens of all ages.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Collaboration is key to keeping investigative journalism alive
By Denise Malan | MediaShift
July 24, 2013
Collaboration is more than just a buzzword. It could be one of the pillars that keeps investigative journalism standing
Look at some of the most recent examples of investigative projects that are making a difference: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists worked with 86 investigative journalists from 46 countries to shine light on the seedy underworld of offshore tax havens.
A congresswoman has asked for a Department of Justice investigation into 50 charities in the wake of the America’s Worst Charities project by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Tampa Bay Times.
The Big Sky, Big Money partnership between PBS, American Public Media’s “Marketplace” and ProPublica won an IRE award for its look at post-Citizens United campaign finance in Montana and led to rulings that a group violated campaign finance laws.
READ IT ALL HERE:
July 24, 2013
Collaboration is more than just a buzzword. It could be one of the pillars that keeps investigative journalism standing
Look at some of the most recent examples of investigative projects that are making a difference: The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists worked with 86 investigative journalists from 46 countries to shine light on the seedy underworld of offshore tax havens.
A congresswoman has asked for a Department of Justice investigation into 50 charities in the wake of the America’s Worst Charities project by the Center for Investigative Reporting and the Tampa Bay Times.
The Big Sky, Big Money partnership between PBS, American Public Media’s “Marketplace” and ProPublica won an IRE award for its look at post-Citizens United campaign finance in Montana and led to rulings that a group violated campaign finance laws.
READ IT ALL HERE:
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Lewis Black's response to Rick Perry's pro-Texas, anti-New York ad | The Daily Show
Rick Perry and the Texas GOP in Austin should be the target, not the entire State of Texas, but here it is anyway. - Tex Edit
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
John Oliver slams Florida | The Daily Show
15 July 2013 – John Oliver ripped into the “fucking crazy” state of Florida over George Zimmerman’s not guilty verdict. He noted the state’s self-defense laws were not only “incredibly stupid,” they also were not applied equally. Zimmerman was considered innocent after killing an unarmed teen in self-defense, but a black woman received 20 years in prison for firing a warning shot to scare off her abusive husband.
Wednesday, July 03, 2013
Busted in Texas | The Young Turks
2 July 2013
As Congress looks to significantly boost funding for the U.S. Border Patrol as part of a new immigration bill, we investigate the impact of the police buildup at a West Texas checkpoint. The Sierra Blanca checkpoint along Interstate 10 was set up to catch major traffickers and immigrants who entered the country illegally. But the checkpoint now busts thousands of unsuspecting Americans a year for low-level drug possession -- including some famous musicians.
Monday, July 01, 2013
Sen. Wendy Davis: We will not concede on Texas abortion bill
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Friday, June 28, 2013
How Rick Perry is working to turn Texas blue
27 June 2013: Chris Hayes discusses the demographic and political future of Texas with Democratic State Senator Leticia Van De Putte and Evan Smith of the Texas Tribune.
Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Wendy Davis says she has aspirations to run for state-wide office
26 June 2013: Texas State Senator Wendy Davis had the eyes of the nation during her long filibuster of an anti-abortion bill. Davis tells Chris Hayes about the details of her test of will and endurance. She also said she'd be lying if she told us she didn't have aspirations to run for a state-wide office in Texas.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Monday, June 17, 2013
How to make freelance journalism possible
Josh Stearns | www.freepress.net/
17 June 2013
Last month the Chicago Sun Times fired its entire staff of photographers -– 28 full-time journalists — and plans to rely primarily on freelancers. This news is just the most recent in a growing trend across the news industry, which is relying more than ever before on independent journalists and freelancers. However, despite all the debate about the future of journalism, not enough has been said about how we can better support freelance journalists and how best to adapt to a media landscape in which so many people are operating without the resources and backing of newsrooms.
On Twitter, I asked freelancers to tell me what the future of journalism looks like to them. This is the first post in a series where I’ll look at some of their responses. While people come to freelancing for a range of reasons, some by choice, some not, I found a few key themes in the responses I got.
But before I get to those responses, some background on the major research done recently, and the conspicuous absence of freelancers.
According to the most recent statistics from the Pew State of the News Media 2013, the U.S. has lost roughly 30% of its journalism workforce since 2000. While I wasn’t able to find concrete data on the rise of freelancers, anecdotal evidence suggests a major shift in the industry. The Committee to Protect Journalists has reported that they are increasingly handling cases for independent and freelance journalists; the Society for Environmental Journalists recently told the Federal Communications Commission that it has seen a spike in membership from people identifying as freelancers; and both the Daily Beast and Columbia Journalism Review have reported on the increase of freelancers reporting from conflict zones abroad in the last year.
READ IT ALL:
17 June 2013
Last month the Chicago Sun Times fired its entire staff of photographers -– 28 full-time journalists — and plans to rely primarily on freelancers. This news is just the most recent in a growing trend across the news industry, which is relying more than ever before on independent journalists and freelancers. However, despite all the debate about the future of journalism, not enough has been said about how we can better support freelance journalists and how best to adapt to a media landscape in which so many people are operating without the resources and backing of newsrooms.
On Twitter, I asked freelancers to tell me what the future of journalism looks like to them. This is the first post in a series where I’ll look at some of their responses. While people come to freelancing for a range of reasons, some by choice, some not, I found a few key themes in the responses I got.
But before I get to those responses, some background on the major research done recently, and the conspicuous absence of freelancers.
According to the most recent statistics from the Pew State of the News Media 2013, the U.S. has lost roughly 30% of its journalism workforce since 2000. While I wasn’t able to find concrete data on the rise of freelancers, anecdotal evidence suggests a major shift in the industry. The Committee to Protect Journalists has reported that they are increasingly handling cases for independent and freelance journalists; the Society for Environmental Journalists recently told the Federal Communications Commission that it has seen a spike in membership from people identifying as freelancers; and both the Daily Beast and Columbia Journalism Review have reported on the increase of freelancers reporting from conflict zones abroad in the last year.
READ IT ALL:
Saturday, June 01, 2013
Inside Job [2010 documentary]
Winner of 2010 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature
Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis. The film is described as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption". In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis.
Inside Job Documentary from Splashy on Vimeo.
Inside Job is a 2010 documentary film about the late-2000s financial crisis. The film is described as being about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption". In five parts, the film explores how changes in the policy environment and banking practices helped create the financial crisis.
Inside Job Documentary from Splashy on Vimeo.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Dallas News: Texas prohibits nearly 70 percent of its counties from having a fire code
Despite the lessons from the West Fertilizer Co. fire and
explosions about the value of fire prevention, site security and safe
storage of dangerous goods, Texas prohibits nearly 70 percent of its
counties from having a fire code.
Fire codes aren’t just for fires. They also contain rules for managing explosive or toxic chemicals, including specific guidelines for ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, the substance that exploded and killed 15 people and injured 200 in West on April 17.
Fire code rules emerge from tragic history.
READ IT ALL:
Fire codes aren’t just for fires. They also contain rules for managing explosive or toxic chemicals, including specific guidelines for ammonium-nitrate fertilizer, the substance that exploded and killed 15 people and injured 200 in West on April 17.
Fire code rules emerge from tragic history.
READ IT ALL:
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
The Daily Show Exclusive - George Packer extended interview
Exclusive - George Packer extended interview
16 May 2013
In this exclusive, unedited interview, "The Unwinding" author George Packer investigates the systemic failure of American government and institutions.
16 May 2013
In this exclusive, unedited interview, "The Unwinding" author George Packer investigates the systemic failure of American government and institutions.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
How the NRA is like the Westboro Baptist Church
Liberals Unite | http://samuel-warde.com
14 May 2013
John Fugelesang takes on the NRA comparing it to the Westboro Baptist Church in this entertaining monologue.
Maybe you’re someone who, like the majority of Americans, supports the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms, but you feel kind of creepy about the weapons-grade cretins who run the NRA and do all they can to keep Americans safe from any gun laws that might keep Americans safe.
Well, you’re not alone. And this is why: loving the Second Amendment while opposing the NRA is every bit as natural as loving Jesus while opposing the Westboro Baptist Church.
READ IT ALL:
14 May 2013
John Fugelesang takes on the NRA comparing it to the Westboro Baptist Church in this entertaining monologue.
Maybe you’re someone who, like the majority of Americans, supports the Second Amendment’s right to bear arms, but you feel kind of creepy about the weapons-grade cretins who run the NRA and do all they can to keep Americans safe from any gun laws that might keep Americans safe.
Well, you’re not alone. And this is why: loving the Second Amendment while opposing the NRA is every bit as natural as loving Jesus while opposing the Westboro Baptist Church.
READ IT ALL:
Tuesday, May 14, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Wednesday, May 08, 2013
Two degrees of separation: Tsarnaev brothers had a CIA Connection
Dave Lindorff | thiscantbehappening.net
30 April 2013
"Look, I said before I’m not a conspiracy theory fan, and maybe this bombing in Boston was just a case of two angry young brothers who flipped out, egged each other on, and decided to go out with a bang. But it would be naive and irresponsible not to make note of these bizarre links, through their Uncle Ruslan Tsarni, of the Tsarnaev brothers to the CIA, and of the apparent presence of the Craft International personnel at the marathon finish line, not to mention the uncanny similarity in attire between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Craft mercenaries at the marathon bombing scene. (Besides, my late father, a retired electrical engineer and a Jungian analyst, used to say that many seeming coincidences are actually synchronicities, and can have much more meaning than simply being a highly improbable accident.) Also begging an answer is the question of where the two brothers, neither of whom had obvious access to wealth, got the money to spend on fancy clothes or, in the case of Tamerlan (who with his wife and small daughter, on the basis of his publicly available information, qualified until this year for welfare assistance), owned a late model Mercedes-Benz sedan."
READ IT ALL:
30 April 2013
"Look, I said before I’m not a conspiracy theory fan, and maybe this bombing in Boston was just a case of two angry young brothers who flipped out, egged each other on, and decided to go out with a bang. But it would be naive and irresponsible not to make note of these bizarre links, through their Uncle Ruslan Tsarni, of the Tsarnaev brothers to the CIA, and of the apparent presence of the Craft International personnel at the marathon finish line, not to mention the uncanny similarity in attire between Tamerlan Tsarnaev and the Craft mercenaries at the marathon bombing scene. (Besides, my late father, a retired electrical engineer and a Jungian analyst, used to say that many seeming coincidences are actually synchronicities, and can have much more meaning than simply being a highly improbable accident.) Also begging an answer is the question of where the two brothers, neither of whom had obvious access to wealth, got the money to spend on fancy clothes or, in the case of Tamerlan (who with his wife and small daughter, on the basis of his publicly available information, qualified until this year for welfare assistance), owned a late model Mercedes-Benz sedan."
READ IT ALL:
Tuesday, May 07, 2013
NY Attorney General: Banks have no fear of law enforcement
Eric W. Dolan | Raw Story
6 May 2013
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Monday suggested that big banks were not afraid of skirting the law because they didn’t believe law enforcement would target them.
But he plans to change that.
Schneiderman announced a lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Bank of America earlier in the day. He alleged the two major banks repeatedly violated the terms of a mortgage settlement reached by the Department of Justice, Department of Housing and Urban Development and 49 state attorneys general last year.
“The problem is the banks have overwhelming confidence that law enforcement is not taking this seriously,” he told MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “They have overwhelming confidence that whatever the rules are, they won’t be followed up on.”
READ IT ALL:
6 May 2013
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman on Monday suggested that big banks were not afraid of skirting the law because they didn’t believe law enforcement would target them.
But he plans to change that.
Schneiderman announced a lawsuit against Wells Fargo and Bank of America earlier in the day. He alleged the two major banks repeatedly violated the terms of a mortgage settlement reached by the Department of Justice, Department of Housing and Urban Development and 49 state attorneys general last year.
“The problem is the banks have overwhelming confidence that law enforcement is not taking this seriously,” he told MSNBC host Chris Hayes. “They have overwhelming confidence that whatever the rules are, they won’t be followed up on.”
READ IT ALL:
Friday, May 03, 2013
Thursday, May 02, 2013
Guantanamo: Either they are guilty, or they aren't.
Heywood J. | Hammer Of The Blogs
1 May 2013
You can make fun of Dubya's ridonkulous Liberry and its self-serving exhibits, but what's Obama's library going to look like at the rate he's going, a cartoon of Barry O getting pushed around by Mitch McConnell and Jamie Dimon for eight goddamned years?
I know his acolytes console themselves that his feckless 11th-dimensional chess mastery is somehow infinity better than whatever shit sandwich Romney and Ryan were cooking up. But only as a mild, eroding bulwark against the eternal predations of the oligarchy, not that Obama has done thing one about them or even slowed them down. In the meantime, every bloody thing you despised about the Bushies -- imprisonment without trial, drone war without end, the ongoing and deliberate ruination of the financial system, the rich getting richer and the poor no longer even getting by -- continue unabated.
There's not much more time for Obama to decide and act on whether he wants to end on eight years of excuses and ineffectual moderation, or to take a risk and do something, anything, pick a direction and grab a shovel. I have zero faith that he'll do the right thing, and it no longer matters whether he wants to but can't, or if he simply was never the transformative figure he was pretending to be. Just another politician, forever chasing the next election and too timid to do anything that might actually impact someone from the non-donor class.
READ IT ALL:
1 May 2013
You can make fun of Dubya's ridonkulous Liberry and its self-serving exhibits, but what's Obama's library going to look like at the rate he's going, a cartoon of Barry O getting pushed around by Mitch McConnell and Jamie Dimon for eight goddamned years?
I know his acolytes console themselves that his feckless 11th-dimensional chess mastery is somehow infinity better than whatever shit sandwich Romney and Ryan were cooking up. But only as a mild, eroding bulwark against the eternal predations of the oligarchy, not that Obama has done thing one about them or even slowed them down. In the meantime, every bloody thing you despised about the Bushies -- imprisonment without trial, drone war without end, the ongoing and deliberate ruination of the financial system, the rich getting richer and the poor no longer even getting by -- continue unabated.
There's not much more time for Obama to decide and act on whether he wants to end on eight years of excuses and ineffectual moderation, or to take a risk and do something, anything, pick a direction and grab a shovel. I have zero faith that he'll do the right thing, and it no longer matters whether he wants to but can't, or if he simply was never the transformative figure he was pretending to be. Just another politician, forever chasing the next election and too timid to do anything that might actually impact someone from the non-donor class.
READ IT ALL:
Principal fires security guards to hire art teachers — and transforms elementary school
Orchard Gardens, a school in Roxbury, Mass., had been plagued by bad test scores and violence – but one principal's idea to fire the security guards and hire art teachers is helping turn it around.
By Katy Tur, Correspondent, NBC News
ROXBURY, Mass. — The community of Roxbury had high hopes for its newest public school back in 2003. There were art studios, a dance room, even a theater equipped with cushy seating. A pilot school for grades K-8, Orchard Gardens was built on grand expectations.
But the dream of a school founded in the arts, a school that would give back to the community as it bettered its children, never materialized. Instead, the dance studio was used for storage and the orchestra's instruments were locked up and barely touched.
The school was plagued by violence and disorder from the start, and by 2010 it was rank in the bottom five of all public schools in the state of Massachusetts. That was when Andrew Bott — the sixth principal in seven years — showed up, and everything started to change.
“We got rid of the security guards,” said Bott, who reinvested all the money used for security infrastructure into the arts.
LINK:
By Katy Tur, Correspondent, NBC News
ROXBURY, Mass. — The community of Roxbury had high hopes for its newest public school back in 2003. There were art studios, a dance room, even a theater equipped with cushy seating. A pilot school for grades K-8, Orchard Gardens was built on grand expectations.
But the dream of a school founded in the arts, a school that would give back to the community as it bettered its children, never materialized. Instead, the dance studio was used for storage and the orchestra's instruments were locked up and barely touched.
The school was plagued by violence and disorder from the start, and by 2010 it was rank in the bottom five of all public schools in the state of Massachusetts. That was when Andrew Bott — the sixth principal in seven years — showed up, and everything started to change.
“We got rid of the security guards,” said Bott, who reinvested all the money used for security infrastructure into the arts.
LINK:
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
The incredibly racist Mountain Dew ad they don't want you to see
"Mountain Dew has set a new low for corporate racism. Their decision to
lean on well-known racial stereotypes is beyond disgusting [...] Even
worse is that Mountain Dew probably thinks this ad is acceptable because
they got the OK from a black man". – Dr. Boyce Watkins
READ THE ARTICLE:
READ THE ARTICLE:
The Top Ten things Black America will have to show for eight years of President Obama — none of them are good
In 2017, it will be routine for US presidents to unilaterally murder with or without announcement of cause anybody, anyplace on the planet within the reach of US drones, special operators and mercenaries.
Bruce A. Dixon | alternet.org
30 April 2013
When Barack Obama leaves the White House in January 2017, what will black America, his earliest and most consistent supporters, have to show for making his political career possible? We'll have the T-shirts and buttons and posters, the souvenirs. That will be the good news. The bad news is what else we'll have... and not.
To hear our black political class tell it, the election of the first black US president was its ultimate achievement to date, a giant step toward fulfillment of a previous generation's insurgent agenda for social transformation. Is that real? Has the career of Barack Hussein Obama really advanced any of the historic goals of the Freedom Movement? Is the question even fair?
With corporate media already speculating about next year's midterm elections, and the presidential contest of 2016, it's entirely appropriate to discuss the president's legacy. And fair is fair --- the black political class doesn't want its meager achievements compared to the agenda of those who fought for our freedom a half century ago, it probably ought to abandon its ceaseless self-promotion as the inheritors of that tradition.
It was the overwhelming black and brown vote, along with the utter, unwavering and uncritical support of African America which made President Obama's career possible. When he leaves office in January 2017, what will be the top ten things we can say black America gained or lost from his two terms in the White House?
READ THE TOP TEN:
Bruce A. Dixon | alternet.org
30 April 2013
When Barack Obama leaves the White House in January 2017, what will black America, his earliest and most consistent supporters, have to show for making his political career possible? We'll have the T-shirts and buttons and posters, the souvenirs. That will be the good news. The bad news is what else we'll have... and not.
To hear our black political class tell it, the election of the first black US president was its ultimate achievement to date, a giant step toward fulfillment of a previous generation's insurgent agenda for social transformation. Is that real? Has the career of Barack Hussein Obama really advanced any of the historic goals of the Freedom Movement? Is the question even fair?
With corporate media already speculating about next year's midterm elections, and the presidential contest of 2016, it's entirely appropriate to discuss the president's legacy. And fair is fair --- the black political class doesn't want its meager achievements compared to the agenda of those who fought for our freedom a half century ago, it probably ought to abandon its ceaseless self-promotion as the inheritors of that tradition.
It was the overwhelming black and brown vote, along with the utter, unwavering and uncritical support of African America which made President Obama's career possible. When he leaves office in January 2017, what will be the top ten things we can say black America gained or lost from his two terms in the White House?
READ THE TOP TEN:
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Guy confronts Boston conspiracy theorists
Man confronts an Infowars reporter who was previously spotted
interrupting FBI press conferences, claiming that the Boston Marathon
bombings were an inside job false flag operation perpetrated by the U.S.
government.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Top Ten things that make Brian Schweitzer an awesome economic populist
With the news that Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT) is retiring, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee has launched a campaign to draft former Montana Governor Brian Schweitzer (D) to run for the spot.
As of this writing, over 15,000 Americans have signed onto the campaign, and have donated over $21,000 to a draft fund that will go to Schweitzer on Day One of his campaign.
Here’s why you should too –the top ten things that make Brian Schweitzer an awesome economic populist:
George W. Bush manure locker is now open
Charles P. Pierce | esquire.com
25 April 2013
The coverage of the opening of this vast temple to prevarication and ruin is not about bricks and mortar. It's about an attempt by the courtier press to absolve itself of a dereliction of duty that rivaled even that of the president in question while New Orleans drowned, and while the economy was bubbling toward disaster. (That dereliction of duty, it should be noted, now and forever, began with the coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign, and the disgraceful performance of the elite political press corps towards Al Gore.)
It's about their efforts to help the country absolve itself from the immense damage it brought upon itself by electing, and then re-electing, a half-bright dry drunk who wrecked nearly everything he touched, and who now is trying to rehabilitate himself by explaining that he hasn't ruined anything else since he left office, and doesn't that make him a swell fella. The elite press is dedicating an entire day of coverage to the perpetuation of a monstrous public lie. Electing George W. Bush twice was a monumental act of democratic self-destruction from which the country has yet to recover.
Celebrating him celebrating himself is simply to pour battery acid into the still-open wounds. I will take theories about dinosaurs in ancient China over the notion that George W. Bush was a good man confronted by insurmountable problems dropped on him by an implacable universe of chance. He was a career fk-up, from start to finish, and he finally found himself in a job where Daddy's money and Daddy's lawyers couldn't bail him out.
READ IT ALL:
25 April 2013
The coverage of the opening of this vast temple to prevarication and ruin is not about bricks and mortar. It's about an attempt by the courtier press to absolve itself of a dereliction of duty that rivaled even that of the president in question while New Orleans drowned, and while the economy was bubbling toward disaster. (That dereliction of duty, it should be noted, now and forever, began with the coverage of the 2000 presidential campaign, and the disgraceful performance of the elite political press corps towards Al Gore.)
It's about their efforts to help the country absolve itself from the immense damage it brought upon itself by electing, and then re-electing, a half-bright dry drunk who wrecked nearly everything he touched, and who now is trying to rehabilitate himself by explaining that he hasn't ruined anything else since he left office, and doesn't that make him a swell fella. The elite press is dedicating an entire day of coverage to the perpetuation of a monstrous public lie. Electing George W. Bush twice was a monumental act of democratic self-destruction from which the country has yet to recover.
Celebrating him celebrating himself is simply to pour battery acid into the still-open wounds. I will take theories about dinosaurs in ancient China over the notion that George W. Bush was a good man confronted by insurmountable problems dropped on him by an implacable universe of chance. He was a career fk-up, from start to finish, and he finally found himself in a job where Daddy's money and Daddy's lawyers couldn't bail him out.
READ IT ALL:
Friday, April 26, 2013
Six whistleblowers charged under the Espionage Act
John Light and Lauren Feeney
26 April 2013 | BillMoyers.com
The Obama administration has been carrying out an unprecedented crackdown on whistleblowers, particularly on those who have divulged information that relates to national security.
The Espionage Act, enacted during the first World War to punish Americans who aided the enemy, had only been used three times in its history to try government officials accused of leaking classified information — until the Obama administration.
Since 2009, the administration has used the act to prosecute six government officials. Meet the whistleblowers.
READ IT ALL:
26 April 2013 | BillMoyers.com
The Obama administration has been carrying out an unprecedented crackdown on whistleblowers, particularly on those who have divulged information that relates to national security.
The Espionage Act, enacted during the first World War to punish Americans who aided the enemy, had only been used three times in its history to try government officials accused of leaking classified information — until the Obama administration.
Since 2009, the administration has used the act to prosecute six government officials. Meet the whistleblowers.
READ IT ALL:
Thursday, April 25, 2013
Is the Press Too Big to Fail?
Todd Gitlin | TomDispatch.com
25 April 2013
Everyone knows this story, though fewer and fewer read it on paper. There are barely enough pages left to wrap fish. The second paper in town has shut down. Sometimes the daily delivers only three days a week. Advertising long ago started fleeing to Craigslist and Internet points south. Subscriptions are dwindling. Online versions don’t bring in much ad revenue. Who can avoid the obvious, if little covered question: Is the press too big to fail? Or was it failing long before it began to falter financially?
In the previous century, there was a brief Golden Age of American journalism, though what glittered like gold leaf sometimes turned out to be tinsel. Then came regression to the mean. Since 2000, we have seen the titans of the news presuming that Bush was the victor over Gore, hustling us into war with Iraq, obscuring climate change, and turning blind eyes to derivatives, mortgage-based securities, collateralized debt obligations, and the other flimsy creations with which a vast, showy, ramshackle international financial house of cards was built. When you think about the crisis of journalism, including the loss of advertising and the shriveled newsrooms -- there were fewer newsroom employees in 2010 than in 1978, when records were first kept -- also think of anesthetized watchdogs snoring on Wall Street while the Arctic ice cap melts.
Deserting readers mean broken business models. Per household circulation of daily American newspapers has been declining steadily for 60 years, since long before the Internet arrived. It’s gone from 1.24 papers per household in 1950 to 0.37 per household in 2010. To get the sports scores, your horoscope, or the crossword puzzle, the casual reader no longer needs even to glance at a whole paper, and so is less likely to brush up against actual -- even superficial -- news. Never mind that the small-r republican model on which the United States was founded presupposed that some critical mass of citizens would spend a critical mass of their time figuring out what’s what and forming judgments accordingly.
READ IT ALL:
25 April 2013
Everyone knows this story, though fewer and fewer read it on paper. There are barely enough pages left to wrap fish. The second paper in town has shut down. Sometimes the daily delivers only three days a week. Advertising long ago started fleeing to Craigslist and Internet points south. Subscriptions are dwindling. Online versions don’t bring in much ad revenue. Who can avoid the obvious, if little covered question: Is the press too big to fail? Or was it failing long before it began to falter financially?
In the previous century, there was a brief Golden Age of American journalism, though what glittered like gold leaf sometimes turned out to be tinsel. Then came regression to the mean. Since 2000, we have seen the titans of the news presuming that Bush was the victor over Gore, hustling us into war with Iraq, obscuring climate change, and turning blind eyes to derivatives, mortgage-based securities, collateralized debt obligations, and the other flimsy creations with which a vast, showy, ramshackle international financial house of cards was built. When you think about the crisis of journalism, including the loss of advertising and the shriveled newsrooms -- there were fewer newsroom employees in 2010 than in 1978, when records were first kept -- also think of anesthetized watchdogs snoring on Wall Street while the Arctic ice cap melts.
Deserting readers mean broken business models. Per household circulation of daily American newspapers has been declining steadily for 60 years, since long before the Internet arrived. It’s gone from 1.24 papers per household in 1950 to 0.37 per household in 2010. To get the sports scores, your horoscope, or the crossword puzzle, the casual reader no longer needs even to glance at a whole paper, and so is less likely to brush up against actual -- even superficial -- news. Never mind that the small-r republican model on which the United States was founded presupposed that some critical mass of citizens would spend a critical mass of their time figuring out what’s what and forming judgments accordingly.
READ IT ALL:
Monday, April 22, 2013
What Jesus wouldn't do
1. Muslims do not recognize Jews as God's chosen people.
2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian World.
4. Baptists do not recognize each other at "Hooters."
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
The New American Confederacy
Max Eternity, Truthout | Op-Ed
16 April 2013
Max Eternity argues that the continuity between the Bush and Obama administrations is evidence of a new American confederacy - a conspiracy against the American people.
Truth often shows up at the most inopportune times, especially for politicians. "You have to hand it to Barack Obama when it comes to having it both ways" writes the publisher of Harpers Magazine, John MacArthur, in a recent article, entitled "Obama's Real Political Program."
For "[n]ever has a leading American Democrat" done so little, MacArthur says, "in support of less-privileged people while getting so much undeserved credit for 'trying' to help them."
Truly, what a strange and bitter pill to swallow.
An article I wrote 2 years ago, titled "Obama's Right Wing Success: Silencing Black America and the Left," then quoted a young, progressive veteran named Evan Knappenberger, who wrote poignantly about this painfully odd dilemma in an editorial, entitled "Obama's Betrayal of Generation Hope."
It's worth mentioning again here, because it is so heartfelt and lays bare what Knappenberger sees as Obama's cruel hypocrisy:
16 April 2013
Max Eternity argues that the continuity between the Bush and Obama administrations is evidence of a new American confederacy - a conspiracy against the American people.
Truth often shows up at the most inopportune times, especially for politicians. "You have to hand it to Barack Obama when it comes to having it both ways" writes the publisher of Harpers Magazine, John MacArthur, in a recent article, entitled "Obama's Real Political Program."
For "[n]ever has a leading American Democrat" done so little, MacArthur says, "in support of less-privileged people while getting so much undeserved credit for 'trying' to help them."
Truly, what a strange and bitter pill to swallow.
An article I wrote 2 years ago, titled "Obama's Right Wing Success: Silencing Black America and the Left," then quoted a young, progressive veteran named Evan Knappenberger, who wrote poignantly about this painfully odd dilemma in an editorial, entitled "Obama's Betrayal of Generation Hope."
It's worth mentioning again here, because it is so heartfelt and lays bare what Knappenberger sees as Obama's cruel hypocrisy:
READ IT ALL:Most disappointing of all to the youth, though, is Obama's betrayal of their values. Particularly, his extensions of Bush policies and war-mongering. Obama's "dumb war" theory (i.e. that some wars are just and some are just "dumb") is, to us, a complete abomination of the concept of peace. By evoking the Reverend Doctor King in his Nobel acceptance speech while in the same breath dismissing nonviolence, Obama has bastardized the concept of peace and alienated us, antiwar youth permanently from his politics."
Sunday, April 14, 2013
NPR story on Texas construction industry highlights GOP hypocrisy, harm
JerryNA | dailykos.com
11 April 2013
A two part news series on NPR by Wade Goodwyn displayed the Texas construction industry as harmful to itself and its workers. Worker injury and death is much higher than the national average and twice California's average. People are treated as disposable, with no repercussions.
Construction booming in Texas but many workers pay dearly.
Texas contractors say playing by the rules doesn't pay.
(One quibble- what they call "playing by the rules" I call "following the law".)
The reporter completely missed two natural followups: 1. How the GOP plays a part in this massive illegal tax evasion and exploitation of undocumented workers by an entire industry. Texas government (i.e. Texas GOP) prides and promotes itself on how "business-friendly" it is, and how few regulations an industry has to follow. Tax evasion and illegal employment (and exploitation) of undocumented workers cannot take place on an industry-wide scale without collusion by the state regulatory agencies.
The NPR reporter quoted or played recordings of construction company owners saying that for 15 or more years they have been hiring workers as "contractors" instead of employees in order to pay wages below industry norm, even below living wages, and as a way to evade paying Social Security and workers compensation insurance. One owner said he did not believe his contractors paid taxes, and did not think more than a fraction were in the country legally. No wonder he did not want his last name quoted- he was admitting on the radio to several felonies. (Want to bet how he votes? There is a better than 57% chance it is for the GOP. This is Texas, though, so in some counties it's much much higher.)
Texas is a "right to work" state, so the laws are deliberately lax, but it's even worse for 'contractors' than for employees. The reporter touched on but did not elaborate on the fact that these 'contractors' got no other benefits as well- no overtime, no health insurance, no sick leave, no vacation time, no freaking nothing except for the right to be worked to death for subsistence wages, all so Texans can buy cheaper houses.
Furthermore, the GOP both promotes and benefits from this illegal activity. The GOP blocks minimum wage increases. The GOP blocks a path to citizenship- a path to paying taxes for both employees and employers. The GOP keeps these workers "illegal" so the workers are afraid to make legal complaints about being exploited, and their families cannot take legal action for the people killed. The GOP underfunds or actively cuts state and federal regulatory agencies, stopping from having the resources to raid businesses which break the law. The GOP promotes and exploits the fear of undocumented workers, but their campaign contributors and voters actively exploit those same workers. There is a lack of empathy in all of this exploitation which seems inhuman to me.
READ IT ALL:
11 April 2013
A two part news series on NPR by Wade Goodwyn displayed the Texas construction industry as harmful to itself and its workers. Worker injury and death is much higher than the national average and twice California's average. People are treated as disposable, with no repercussions.
Construction booming in Texas but many workers pay dearly.
Texas contractors say playing by the rules doesn't pay.
(One quibble- what they call "playing by the rules" I call "following the law".)
The reporter completely missed two natural followups: 1. How the GOP plays a part in this massive illegal tax evasion and exploitation of undocumented workers by an entire industry. Texas government (i.e. Texas GOP) prides and promotes itself on how "business-friendly" it is, and how few regulations an industry has to follow. Tax evasion and illegal employment (and exploitation) of undocumented workers cannot take place on an industry-wide scale without collusion by the state regulatory agencies.
The NPR reporter quoted or played recordings of construction company owners saying that for 15 or more years they have been hiring workers as "contractors" instead of employees in order to pay wages below industry norm, even below living wages, and as a way to evade paying Social Security and workers compensation insurance. One owner said he did not believe his contractors paid taxes, and did not think more than a fraction were in the country legally. No wonder he did not want his last name quoted- he was admitting on the radio to several felonies. (Want to bet how he votes? There is a better than 57% chance it is for the GOP. This is Texas, though, so in some counties it's much much higher.)
Texas is a "right to work" state, so the laws are deliberately lax, but it's even worse for 'contractors' than for employees. The reporter touched on but did not elaborate on the fact that these 'contractors' got no other benefits as well- no overtime, no health insurance, no sick leave, no vacation time, no freaking nothing except for the right to be worked to death for subsistence wages, all so Texans can buy cheaper houses.
Furthermore, the GOP both promotes and benefits from this illegal activity. The GOP blocks minimum wage increases. The GOP blocks a path to citizenship- a path to paying taxes for both employees and employers. The GOP keeps these workers "illegal" so the workers are afraid to make legal complaints about being exploited, and their families cannot take legal action for the people killed. The GOP underfunds or actively cuts state and federal regulatory agencies, stopping from having the resources to raid businesses which break the law. The GOP promotes and exploits the fear of undocumented workers, but their campaign contributors and voters actively exploit those same workers. There is a lack of empathy in all of this exploitation which seems inhuman to me.
READ IT ALL:
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Bill Moyers: living in the United States of Inequality
"Marching in lockstep beneath a banner that now stands for “Guardians of Privilege” -- GOP -- Republicans refuse to raise revenues, while Democrats have a president whose new budget contains gimmicks that could lead to cuts in Social Security. Social Security! The one universal safety net -- and a modest one at that – and yet the main source of purchasing power for millions of aging Americans.
"This, from a Democrat – the heir of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who pulled us to our feet when the Great Depression had America on its knees. But those were the days when our political system rallied to the defense of everyday Americans. Now a petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government, while millions of people keep falling through the gaping hole that has turned us into the United States of Inequality."
"This, from a Democrat – the heir of Franklin Delano Roosevelt who pulled us to our feet when the Great Depression had America on its knees. But those were the days when our political system rallied to the defense of everyday Americans. Now a petty, narcissistic, pridefully ignorant politics has come to dominate and paralyze our government, while millions of people keep falling through the gaping hole that has turned us into the United States of Inequality."
Friday, April 12, 2013
Sen. Whitehouse speaks out against Chained CPI
April 11, 2013 — At the Budget Committee Hearing on the President's
Budget, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse lets OMB's Acting Director know that he is
committed to fighting against Chained CPI and preserving Social Security
benefits for seniors.
Thursday, April 11, 2013
The Daily Show | Jimmy Carter part 2
Former President Jimmy Carter explains why the United States never signed a peace treaty with North Korea.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Health coalition swipes family-planning funds from State of Texas
Federal government bypasses state agency, awards Title X grant to Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas.
Carolyn Jones
25 March 2013
Some family-planning funding in Texas will soon be under new management.
The federal government announced today that it would no longer give a large slice of federal family-planning funds to the state of Texas. Instead, the feds will award the $6.5 million grant to the Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, a coalition of providers led by Fran Hagerty, to distribute to clinics for birth control, wellness exams, STD screenings and other family-planning services.
The Observer reported in November that the coalition would apply directly to the federal government for the grant—called Title X (Title 10)—one of three federal funding streams that pay for family-planning services in the state.
Before today, the sole grantee for Texas’ Title X funds had been the Texas Department of State Health Services. The health department had in turn distributed the grant money to family planning providers statewide.
But the 2011 Legislature slashed the $111-million family-planning budget by two thirds, causing more than 60 clinics to close. The loss of clinics resulted in the number of Texans receiving services through Title X to drop by 50 percent, according to an annual review by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The collateral damage wrought by the budget cuts has been widespread. Many of the providers in Hagerty’s coalition had lost state family-planning funds and are struggling to stay open.
READ IT ALL:
Carolyn Jones
25 March 2013
Some family-planning funding in Texas will soon be under new management.
The federal government announced today that it would no longer give a large slice of federal family-planning funds to the state of Texas. Instead, the feds will award the $6.5 million grant to the Women’s Health and Family Planning Association of Texas, a coalition of providers led by Fran Hagerty, to distribute to clinics for birth control, wellness exams, STD screenings and other family-planning services.
The Observer reported in November that the coalition would apply directly to the federal government for the grant—called Title X (Title 10)—one of three federal funding streams that pay for family-planning services in the state.
Before today, the sole grantee for Texas’ Title X funds had been the Texas Department of State Health Services. The health department had in turn distributed the grant money to family planning providers statewide.
But the 2011 Legislature slashed the $111-million family-planning budget by two thirds, causing more than 60 clinics to close. The loss of clinics resulted in the number of Texans receiving services through Title X to drop by 50 percent, according to an annual review by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The collateral damage wrought by the budget cuts has been widespread. Many of the providers in Hagerty’s coalition had lost state family-planning funds and are struggling to stay open.
READ IT ALL:
Friday, March 22, 2013
Gov. Perry’s water board still won’t acknowledge climate change as Texas faces dire drought in 2013
Stephen C. Webster | The Raw Story
22 March 2013
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Two top environmental officials in the state of Texas told Raw Story this week that not only is the state ill-prepared to face a summer this year even hotter than the record-breaking drought of 2011, it has largely neglected to begin planning for the unprecedented drought conditions forecast for the next several decades by the U.S. government’s 2013 National Climate Assessment.
The situation is so dire that if fundamental changes are not made to how water is conserved in Texas, the clashing trends of climate change and population growth threaten to utterly strangle the Texas economy over the coming 20-30 years as water costs soar, and activists warn that Gov. Rick Perry (R) is doing nothing but making the problem worse.
“Because the folks on the Texas water board are appointed by Rick Perry, they tend to fall in line with what Rick Perry believes when it comes to climate change,” Alyssa Burgin, executive director of the Texas Drought Project, told Raw Story. “There are many people whose jobs are on the line when it comes to talking about climate change. A mention of it did appear in the most recent state water plan, but any discussion given to it was rudimentary and symbolic, as if they didn’t wish to be accused of being ignorant as scientists… Most of our reservoirs are already in dire need and we’ve not even begun the really hot months. Taken together, it’s going to look like the dust bowl of Oklahoma.”
READ IT ALL:
22 March 2013
AUSTIN, TEXAS — Two top environmental officials in the state of Texas told Raw Story this week that not only is the state ill-prepared to face a summer this year even hotter than the record-breaking drought of 2011, it has largely neglected to begin planning for the unprecedented drought conditions forecast for the next several decades by the U.S. government’s 2013 National Climate Assessment.
The situation is so dire that if fundamental changes are not made to how water is conserved in Texas, the clashing trends of climate change and population growth threaten to utterly strangle the Texas economy over the coming 20-30 years as water costs soar, and activists warn that Gov. Rick Perry (R) is doing nothing but making the problem worse.
“Because the folks on the Texas water board are appointed by Rick Perry, they tend to fall in line with what Rick Perry believes when it comes to climate change,” Alyssa Burgin, executive director of the Texas Drought Project, told Raw Story. “There are many people whose jobs are on the line when it comes to talking about climate change. A mention of it did appear in the most recent state water plan, but any discussion given to it was rudimentary and symbolic, as if they didn’t wish to be accused of being ignorant as scientists… Most of our reservoirs are already in dire need and we’ve not even begun the really hot months. Taken together, it’s going to look like the dust bowl of Oklahoma.”
READ IT ALL:
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Rick Perry's $487 million corporate slush fund doesn't need your stinkin' audit
The Texas governor doesn't agree that his corporate-handout
fund needs an audit—because he and two other GOP pols already monitor
it.
Dana Liebelson | Mother Jones
20 March 2013
snip
Perry maintains that the fund gives Texas a competitive edge and has brought more than 56,000 new jobs to the state and generated more than $14.7 billion in capital investment. But the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice found that by the end of 2010, companies getting cash from the fund were only creating about 37 percent of the number of jobs promised. The administration has lowered standards in the past so that companies could create fewer jobs than they had promised, and it has canceled contracts after criticism over companies such as Bank of America's Countrywide, which continued to be an Enterprise grantee as it collapsed and laid off thousands of workers nationwide.
snip
"Perry's office is basically accommodating a process by which taxpayer money is transferred to corporations, not invested in state infrastructure," says Matt Angle, the director of the Lone Star Project, a political action committee devoted to strategic communications and research for Democrats. He would like to see Enterprise funds start going to education, family planning, and roads. (In 2011, Perry cut $5.4 billion in state funding from public schools, and he is turning down $100 billion to expand Medicaid while also shuttering 53 family planning clinics.)"
READ IT ALL:
Dana Liebelson | Mother Jones
20 March 2013
snip
Perry maintains that the fund gives Texas a competitive edge and has brought more than 56,000 new jobs to the state and generated more than $14.7 billion in capital investment. But the watchdog group Texans for Public Justice found that by the end of 2010, companies getting cash from the fund were only creating about 37 percent of the number of jobs promised. The administration has lowered standards in the past so that companies could create fewer jobs than they had promised, and it has canceled contracts after criticism over companies such as Bank of America's Countrywide, which continued to be an Enterprise grantee as it collapsed and laid off thousands of workers nationwide.
snip
"Perry's office is basically accommodating a process by which taxpayer money is transferred to corporations, not invested in state infrastructure," says Matt Angle, the director of the Lone Star Project, a political action committee devoted to strategic communications and research for Democrats. He would like to see Enterprise funds start going to education, family planning, and roads. (In 2011, Perry cut $5.4 billion in state funding from public schools, and he is turning down $100 billion to expand Medicaid while also shuttering 53 family planning clinics.)"
READ IT ALL:
The Spectacular Rise and Fall of Jamie Dimon
More than just a tawdry tale, Dimon’s demise is a critique of the American Dream.
Lynn Stuart Parramore | Alternet
March 19, 2013
They called him a hero. The most esteemed banker of his time. The captain who could steer the ship while others foundered. The handsome, charismatic CEO of JP Morgan Chase, he of the silver hair and golden tongue, beloved by presidents and praised by pundits.
Now the truth is out, and Wall Street’s golden boy, Jamie Dimon, has fallen to earth with a thud.
Why did it take so long? Why did the American media treat him with kid gloves? In a populist moment, how did he manage to escape the scorn heaped on his colleagues?
To understand this, you have to follow the yellow brick rode all the way back to the beginning, back to when the gold-plated American Dream was forged in the smithy of the Puritan soul.
READ IT ALL: http://www.alternet.org/economy/spectacular-rise-and-fall-jamie-dimon-wall-streets-golden-boy
Lynn Stuart Parramore | Alternet
March 19, 2013
They called him a hero. The most esteemed banker of his time. The captain who could steer the ship while others foundered. The handsome, charismatic CEO of JP Morgan Chase, he of the silver hair and golden tongue, beloved by presidents and praised by pundits.
Now the truth is out, and Wall Street’s golden boy, Jamie Dimon, has fallen to earth with a thud.
Why did it take so long? Why did the American media treat him with kid gloves? In a populist moment, how did he manage to escape the scorn heaped on his colleagues?
To understand this, you have to follow the yellow brick rode all the way back to the beginning, back to when the gold-plated American Dream was forged in the smithy of the Puritan soul.
READ IT ALL: http://www.alternet.org/economy/spectacular-rise-and-fall-jamie-dimon-wall-streets-golden-boy
Saturday, March 09, 2013
Anti-union, pro-fossil fuel forces are the real reason the Post Office is struggling
“As the second -largest employer in the United States, behind Wal-Mart, which is not unionized, they’re the largest union employer in the United States. And ever since 1981, when Ronald Reagan declared war on union workers, the Republican war against unions has been relentless,” Hartmann says.
SOURCE:
Crying won't fix your state, voting will
Vince Yanez | thebigslice.org/
7 March 2013
Every once in a while we post a story on The Pragmatic Progressive Page about a certain state or region, and inevitably, we get people who start stomping their feet or crying or threatening to leave because they were offended. We might point out that Texas voters are idiots, the Deep South is full of morons or that Arizona is a bunch of racists. And the cry will always go up….’But I AM NOT a racists, therefore, you are WRONG!’
So here’s the deal. You and I both know that every type of person lives in every type of region, and anyone with a brain knows that when someone says ‘Texas voters are idiots’ - we are talking about the majority of those voters, because as elections go, majority always wins. When they do documentaries in the Deep South and show toothless, bible-thumping inbred-types spouting off their hatred for ‘that Muslim’ and waving around their Confederate Flag – yes, we realize that isn’t everyone, but as someone who has travelled to the Deep South many times – that isn’t hard to find. In fact, it’s too easy to find; whether it’s the front desk of a Motel 6, the waitress of a Waffle House or any of the half-a-billion Wal-Mart dotting the landscape. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
You see, I’m from Arizona. And when people say, ‘Arizona is a bunch of racists!’ – I don’t cry and scream and defend my state by pointing out that I, in fact, am not a racist. I think about the fact that we put through bills like SB1070, that we vote into office people like Arpaio, Brewer and McCain, or that we have a ton of uneducated Minute-Men on our border with guns strapped to their sides and some misguided vigilantism keeping them peering into the desert day in and day out. I think about the fact that my state will vote in these morons time and time again, so if my state appears racists to everyone else in America, how is my crying helping the fact that actions speak louder than words?
At the end of the day, we can either say that Arizona is full of racists or we can say that the racists in Arizona are the only ones that care enough to vote…while all those lazy, apathetic non-racists are just sitting around crying they are being called racists. We can say that Texas voters are idiots, or we can say that the idiots are who care enough to vote in Texas, and all those lazy, apathetic non-idiots are being given a bad rap. We can make a blanket statement that the Deep South is full of a bunch of freaks, or we can just admit that we were only basing that on every person we met, every time we stopped at any rest stop, gas station or Cracker Barrel…and all the cool people just don’t leave their houses much.
Remember, though all forms of ‘prejudice’ may not be true, they are usually based on something that isn’t exactly a fairy tale, so let’s start being honest with ourselves.
Or…we can try harder. If you don’t like that your state is being seen as a major problem in America, then get out there and vote, and get those who are like you (who you claim there are many) to vote as well. THAT is how you change things. But to just stomp your feet every time someone points out a fact that everyone seems to agree on…that isn’t how you fix things. It never has been.
I come from a racist state, with weirdos AND idiot voters. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. I’m not going to cry and stomp and threaten to leave your page/club/house when you point that out. Instead, I’m going to either decide that is not the state for me and leave, or I’m going to try to fix the problem – but one thing I do know, tears and/or anger have never carried the same weight as a vote at the ballot box. Ever.
And if you are saying I’m trying to change things!!! – good for you, try harder, those of us who don’t have blonde hair and white skin want more places to travel in this damn country of ours without fearing for our lives every time we get a freakin’ flat tire.
SOURCE:
7 March 2013
Every once in a while we post a story on The Pragmatic Progressive Page about a certain state or region, and inevitably, we get people who start stomping their feet or crying or threatening to leave because they were offended. We might point out that Texas voters are idiots, the Deep South is full of morons or that Arizona is a bunch of racists. And the cry will always go up….’But I AM NOT a racists, therefore, you are WRONG!’
So here’s the deal. You and I both know that every type of person lives in every type of region, and anyone with a brain knows that when someone says ‘Texas voters are idiots’ - we are talking about the majority of those voters, because as elections go, majority always wins. When they do documentaries in the Deep South and show toothless, bible-thumping inbred-types spouting off their hatred for ‘that Muslim’ and waving around their Confederate Flag – yes, we realize that isn’t everyone, but as someone who has travelled to the Deep South many times – that isn’t hard to find. In fact, it’s too easy to find; whether it’s the front desk of a Motel 6, the waitress of a Waffle House or any of the half-a-billion Wal-Mart dotting the landscape. Let’s not pretend otherwise.
You see, I’m from Arizona. And when people say, ‘Arizona is a bunch of racists!’ – I don’t cry and scream and defend my state by pointing out that I, in fact, am not a racist. I think about the fact that we put through bills like SB1070, that we vote into office people like Arpaio, Brewer and McCain, or that we have a ton of uneducated Minute-Men on our border with guns strapped to their sides and some misguided vigilantism keeping them peering into the desert day in and day out. I think about the fact that my state will vote in these morons time and time again, so if my state appears racists to everyone else in America, how is my crying helping the fact that actions speak louder than words?
At the end of the day, we can either say that Arizona is full of racists or we can say that the racists in Arizona are the only ones that care enough to vote…while all those lazy, apathetic non-racists are just sitting around crying they are being called racists. We can say that Texas voters are idiots, or we can say that the idiots are who care enough to vote in Texas, and all those lazy, apathetic non-idiots are being given a bad rap. We can make a blanket statement that the Deep South is full of a bunch of freaks, or we can just admit that we were only basing that on every person we met, every time we stopped at any rest stop, gas station or Cracker Barrel…and all the cool people just don’t leave their houses much.
Remember, though all forms of ‘prejudice’ may not be true, they are usually based on something that isn’t exactly a fairy tale, so let’s start being honest with ourselves.
Or…we can try harder. If you don’t like that your state is being seen as a major problem in America, then get out there and vote, and get those who are like you (who you claim there are many) to vote as well. THAT is how you change things. But to just stomp your feet every time someone points out a fact that everyone seems to agree on…that isn’t how you fix things. It never has been.
I come from a racist state, with weirdos AND idiot voters. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. I’m not going to cry and stomp and threaten to leave your page/club/house when you point that out. Instead, I’m going to either decide that is not the state for me and leave, or I’m going to try to fix the problem – but one thing I do know, tears and/or anger have never carried the same weight as a vote at the ballot box. Ever.
And if you are saying I’m trying to change things!!! – good for you, try harder, those of us who don’t have blonde hair and white skin want more places to travel in this damn country of ours without fearing for our lives every time we get a freakin’ flat tire.
SOURCE:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)